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My Awkward Encounter with a “Deplorable”

So I was at the Chinese restaurant waiting for my food, a middle aged man starts talking to me about Trump, the rioters, etc. He’s condemning the rioters for burning property, hurting people, etc. He’ll get no disagreement from me there. He keeps going, talking about people who get shot by the police because they wouldn’t do what they’re supposed to. It’s Friday evening, I’m in an amiable mood, so I concur. “Yeah, I remember that guy in Milwaukee who wouldn’t put down the gun, and the cop shot him. What was the cop supposed to do?!”

Then the man goes on to start criticizing Obama (now he’s losing me), “and that Obama says Travon Martin could have been his son…Martin beat that guy up, that was a Mexican feller…He beat him up…” Time to interject. “Now as I remember, Zimmerman followed Travon Martin to his house…” “well yeah, he was a neighborhood watchman and Travon Martin was suspicious, because he was wearing a hoodie” (I promise you, that’s exactly what this man said). As I continue defending Travon Martin, a black couple walks in. The second they walk in, the man becomes deathly silent. I just remember concluding by saying, “that’s a different situation”, in comparing Travon Martin to the stuff we were talking about before.

But you’ll notice how the man’s behavior completely changes due to the skin color of those entering. As I’m white, the lady at the counter is white (Yes, the cooks are Chinese, they just have a white lady taking orders), he let’s a fly. I can’t help but wonder, considering that George Zimmerman was not a police officer. If Travon Martin were a white guy named Travis Martin, and Zimmerman were a black man, and everything else had been the same, would this man have the same reaction?

Good to be reminded that just because I’m on the team as these people for the time being, doesn’t mean I should get too comfortable with them. So, Democrats, want to win me back in 2020?

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3 thoughts on “My Awkward Encounter with a “Deplorable””

please dont go back to the liars and hypocrites. its only a “2-party system” as long as democrats are considered a real alternative to– anything.

the democrats are weak– strike hard, now. go green/pirate/start your own party. you will lose– you will lose for a few more years, at the very least. if we dont get a viable alternative party sooner or later, we will continue to lose forever.

I don’t think I’d ever actually go back to the Democrats. I loosely, very loosely, identify as a Democrat just because of what they used to stand for. But they lost my loyalty long ago. I didn’t leave them, they left me. So, when I say, “want to win me back?” I only mean they could win my vote for this or that candidate. I’ll never become a Republican, but I’ll vote for some of them, and the same goes for Democrats.

im a leftist at heart– the ideals the democratic party seems to pretend to represent, i believe those are the ones we should try to have as people (maybe not everyone. compare it to the moderate christian that doesnt believe EVERYONE has to convert, but still that its good and somehow ideal, and definitely for them.)

but i think the democratic party will never really represent that ever again (sounds like you agree.) feingold, wyden– “real” democrats. the rest? meh. the rest are generally useful as an example of how far the party has fallen. if the left cant grok the constitution or stop wars, then its going to have to be libertarian (or the like) from now on– since liberals and conservatives generally cant manage it.